An Indian-origin woman, who miraculously escaped after jumping in front of a train with her 5-year-old son last year, has been ordered to be detained indefinitely in a mental hospital in London.
Radhika Sharma, 35, jumped before an oncoming train at the Stratford station in east London in June last year with her son, but escaped after both fell into a gap between the tracks.
The driver applied the emergency brakes and the train passed over the two at low speed before coming to a halt. Both mother and son escaped with minor injuries.
Sharma was convicted of attempted murder and child cruelty following a two-week trial at the Snaresbrook Crown Court in April. She has now been sentenced to be detained indefinitely in a mental hospital under the Mental Health Act 1983.
Psychiatrists said Sharma was delusional and believed she was being followed by a man called Binka.
Sharma, who will receive treatment at a specialist centre, will only be released when the Home Secretary decides she no longer poses a risk to the public.
Psychiatrist Philip Baker, who is treating Sharma, told the media that her mental illness could have been triggered by a traumatic incident when she was a teenager in India.
Sentencing Sharma, Judge David Radford told her, "It is my view that it was only by the grace of God that you and the boy were not killed or seriously injured by contact with the train. Very fortunately, the boy's injuries were only slight though there is clear evidence that he suffered real psychological harm from what happened to him. Happily as time passes it is to be hoped that harm is dissipating."
"The guidelines make clear that even if an offence like this is not premeditated and there was no injury caused, an offender can expect to be sent to prison for a significant number of years. Had it not been for the clear medical evidence that you had been suffering from mental illness and continue to suffer, such a sentence would have to have been passed," the judge said.
Train driver Richard Roscoe said, "I saw an Indian woman standing fairly close to the yellow line on the platform. As I approached, she started walking straight ahead as if she was going to board the train. I didn't see anyone else there. She walked straight up to the yellow line, looking straight ahead, then just stepped out."
"She went down into the tracks, I did think I'd hit her, I didn't feel any bump or hear any noise. I put the train straight into emergency mode so the brakes locked. First I knew about the boy was when the paramedics said he was still alive," the driver said.
